Tag Archives: Personal

Quotable Monday: Revolution

Posted on by
Reply

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

Have you ever read the United States Declaration of Independence? It’s an interesting read if you can get through it.

I realize I have clipped a section for my purposes, but I strongly encourage you to read it in it’s entirety for context.

http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/

As a quick backstory, for the non-Americans (or those who have forgotten), the United States was born of people who migrated from England (among other parts of Europe) and was initially an English Colony. King George III was being somewhat of a douche towards the colonists. After much agony inflicted by the King, they decided to separate, to declare their independence.

They outline their complaints against the King and his government: refusing to approve laws believed to be for the common good, forcing his government into accepting his will, dissolving the government on multiple occasions for refusing to accept his views, for placing armed troops among them [the colonists] and protecting them from trial for any murders they commit, cutting off trade, imposing taxes without consent, depriving the right to a trial by jury, etc, etc.

The point is, at some point, the common belief of the people becomes that the government has long ceased to meet their needs, and that change needs to happen. When the government has long proven it’s unwillingness to listen to the people, then according to the Declaration of Independence, it is the duty of the people to rise up against the government and replace it with a more suitable form.

I’m not suggesting a violent overthrow of the government as it stands, I’m certainly not suggesting that the current system of government is being nearly as oppressive as King George III was all those years ago, but I think the United States is long overdue for a discussion on the purpose of government, the duty of government, what the people want and expect from the government, and then action to create a government that is of the people, by the people, for the people.

After watching what is going on in the Occupy movements, I see a group of people who are wanting to start the discussion, but none of the right people are listening. It’s time they stood down their security forces and listened to what their constituency are peacefully requesting. After all, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” – John F. Kennedy

Quotable Monday: Conformity

Posted on by
Reply

“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.” — Albert Einstein

This also references my earlier Quotable Monday entry on blind faith. I always have trouble when I run into people who, when asked questions about things, just speak information they don’t understand.

I ran into this issue on IRC not too long ago, when talking to someone who was making the absolute federal minimum wage of $2.16 (or whatever it is) an hour while driving for a pizza company. When asked about what they made, they referenced Florida as being “under maritime law.” This didn’t make any sense to me, as I assumed that I would have known something along this line a long time ago, and so I went for a talk with my buddy Google.

I confess that in this talk I did learn things – mostly related to the exception to the $7.55/hr federal minimum wage (as it applies to people who normally receive tips in their line of work), but at no point did I find any reference to the State of Florida combined with Maritime Law.

So I challenged the individual, and asked plainly: Is that just what you’ve been told it is? And the answer came back with a resounding “Yes.”

My problem isn’t with people who conform by their own choice, my problem is those who fail to consider the options, or make their decisions without making so much as an attempt to think for themselves. Letting other people think for you is, in my mind, an assault to the freedom of choice that you were given. This also applies to the “non-conformists” who have chosen their path simply because it’s not what other people are doing. Believe it or not, you’ve let other people think for you by rebelling against them.

If you are in the military because you considered your options and it was what you decided to do, that’s awesome. If you are in the military because you were told to, or it was expected of you, and you just accepted it, not so cool. And the same applies to other fields too. It’s totally fine for a feminist to decide to stay home and be a housewife. It doesn’t go against the core principles of feminism which (as I understand them) are about giving women the right to choose. If you’re staying home and being a housewife because you wanted to, go right ahead. If it’s merely because it is the socially accepted thing to do, maybe you should reevaluate what it is you want from life.

I’m not going to apply this to every person in every religion or social setting, I’ll leave that to you to consider.

Photo Friday: My Outback

Posted on by
Reply

I love my car. I’ve owned it for a little more than a year now, and it’s just great. I expected it would be, since having Kelly’s Subaru for a year before that created a love for Subaru and a love for the Outback especially. It has a couple of minor issues that I am working to get resolved, but it’s just a great car in general.

It runs wonderfully in snow and ice, it’s great in summer, it offroads fairly well (although it’s pretty close to the ground, so by no means is it a 4×4 replacement), and gets decent gas mileage!

This photo was taken, once again, while waiting for a train. You can see the tracks in the background, I was waiting for the Shenandoah Valley Railroad to show up on their way from Staunton to Weyers Cave. I don’t know if they went any further north that day, because I stopped dawdling around them after a while and went to Waynesboro instead. Chances are good you’ll see more of the SVRR directly on Photo Friday in the future!

Photo Friday: Working Late

Posted on by
Reply

One of the few benefits to working late in Harrisonburg is that I get to watch, or at least listen to, the late night workings of the Chesapeake Western. They don’t often work late, but when they do I’m usually around to know it’s happening.

Quotable Monday: Criticism

Posted on by
Reply

“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.”– Winston Churchill

What is your natural reaction to criticism? What do you do when someone comes to you and tells you that “you’re doing it wrong?”

When I am approached and told I need to get my act together, my natural reaction is one of bitterness and resentment. If I am in a position of power, such as a moderator of a forum or a chat room, my instinct is to remove the person who is offending me simply because I don’t like them. This, to me, is a selfish abuse of power.

Here is something to try. If you are in a position of power, chances are people will criticize you. Either because you did something they disapproved of, or you failed to act when they expected you to. We’re human, so we make mistakes like this a lot. Next time it happens, don’t make a snap decision. Don’t remove the problem, but consider their argument. Consider the possibility that they are right, and you are wrong. Humility can go a long way as a leader, and will go a long way for your followers who look up to you.

And if you are in a space where no criticism is ever directed at you or other staff members, maybe you should consider why – are people afraid to speak up? Are they afraid to voice their concerns? If this is the case, then perhaps it is time for change.

Photo Friday: Streams of Light

Posted on by
Reply

One of my first digital subjects was the streams of light out the back window of a car at night. A long exposure with moving car made the streetlights look awesome.

I still come back to it occasionally, either from a static position with a tripod, watching cars go by. I also occasionally do it like this: from the dashboard of the car while driving. Shortly afterwards I bought a window-mount for the camera so I can avoid losing half of the image. This was taken during heat lightning (which was what I was going for). I didn’t really get much, but some cool lightstreams were there nonetheless!

Quotable Monday: Christianity without Christ

Posted on by
Reply

“In answer to your inquiry, I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.” — William Booth

This is something that has bothered me for a long time. I think it is one of the things that leaves me questioning my beliefs in “Common Christianity” and puts me outside my circle of friends a lot.

We like the idea that if we say a prayer and ask forgiveness, our sin doesn’t matter anymore. While in a sense this is true, it’s not that simple. It’s not OK to say “Yes, God, I know I did this bad thing, but I’m sorry and I ask you to forgive me,” as we get ready, walk out the door and do whatever it was all over again. It’s not OK to claim Christianity while ignoring the parts of the bible you don’t like, whether it is to love everyone equally, or to give to the poor, or other more controversial things.

It’s OK to accept anyone into the church, but it’s not OK to allow them to serve in ministry when they have sin they refuse to acknowledge or address. It’s OK to teach about the wonder of heaven, but it has to go hand in hand with the risks of the other option.

Quotable Monday: Do it Anyway

Posted on by
Reply

“People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People who really want help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway. Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world your best anyway.” — Mother Teresa

This one was on my Facebook a couple of weeks ago. Often I find that I don’t want to help people, and often for social reasons. Most commonly it is because I have a valid reason (not having money to give, etc), but I’ve also avoided helping out of selfishness, or because it was inconvenient. Mother Teresa said that despite the risks, we should do it anyway.

Photo Friday: Sitting on an Axle

Posted on by
Reply

In May, the C&O Historical Society organized a Heritage Day in Clifton Forge, VA.

While I was rushing around finishing up what I was doing (while my wife was sick and had gone to the car) I happened upon these two old men sitting on an old wheelset. I probably shouldn’t have stopped to take the photo, but I’m glad I did!

Photo Friday: Photographing the Photographer

Posted on by
Reply

One of my favorite things to do as a photographer is take photos of people taking photos. It’s really weird.

My wife also enjoys taking photos, and so often I will find I’ve taken photos of her taking photos, just because it’s what I like to do!

In this case, we were on a train leaving New York (headed to Boston). This was on our emergency trip to Boston to pick up a friend and a car. It was a good time, and I’d love to do it again with a different time schedule and under much better circumstances.

This is my photo from a similar angle, but this is what she was taking photos of: